Barricade on the Pont Neuf at the intersection with the Quai de Conti, August 1944.

Since 1940, Paris had been occupied by German troops. As the Allied army approached the capital, this encouraged the Parisian population to resist. It came to a general strike, followed by open revolts. Everywhere in the city barricades were erected, and around the 20th of August, the Resistance took control of the city. Although militarily inefficient, these barricades had symbolic character for of the Paris uprising.